Fed Beige Book

According to the recently release, Fed Beige Book, 75% of the country is slowing. 8 of the 12 Fed regions saw economic growth, with the other 4 districts growing only moderately. Weather was a large factor in Minneapolis and Dallas. The report does note that consumer spending up thanks to...

Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the European Central Bank, spoke Thursday morning. In his speech, he used his traditional "strong vigilance" phrase, which investors have interpreted to mean a forthcoming rate hike. Following that speech, the EUR/USD began a sharp sell-off, as currency traders...

On Tuesday, an unusually large solar flare exploded from the surface of the sun. That explosion put a tremendous amount of solar material into space, material which is on a collision course with the Earth. According to National Geographic, that material could disrupt power grids and damage...

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve released its Beige Book, a report on the state of the economy compiled individually by each of the Fed's 12 district banks. In what should be a surprise to exactly no one (at least those that watched Chairman Ben Bernanke's speech on Tuesday), four of the...

The Federal Reserve just released its Beige Book, and the Beige Book shows that economic growth continues to improve, albeit at a moderate pace. The Beige Book shows that most districts are reporting labor market improvement, skilled workers are hard to find, but wage pressures are weak in many...

The Fed's latest Beige Book summary of national economic conditions basically confirmed what we already know: It's going to be a long, slow recovery. The Fed noted that economic activity has continued to increase, on balance, since the previous survey. Two districts, Atlanta and Chicago, said the...

See full release here. Economic activity has continued to increase, on balance, since the previous survey, although the Cleveland and Kansas City Districts reported that the level of economic activity generally held steady. Among those Districts reporting improvements in economic activity, a number...